A reference guide to wine and food: look it up, and you'll remember it longer; screw it up, and you'll remember it forever.

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK...

...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic best sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I'll try to point this out. The usual shtick is "favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks". There is also PR copy on "demystifying ethnic ingredients". PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase "mouth-watering recipes" as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don't seem to work at home, but how could that be? The books all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food photo shots, verging on gastroporn. There are endorsements from other celebrities in magnificent cases of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don't ignore them altogether. Here's a rundown on the latest crop of such books 

16. THE BEEKMAN 1802 HEIRLOOM DESSERT COOKBOOK (Rodale, 2013, 260 pages, ISBN 978-1-606961-573-4, $32.50 US) is by Brent Bridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, founders of the lifestyle company Beckman 1802 in New York. They focus on seasonal living, and have a show on TV and have written other cookbooks. You can find them at beckman1802.com. Here the boys present about 100 preps from the farm and garden, with some help from Sandra Gluck. The book is seasonally arranged, from winter through fall. This current book is a major accompaniment to their earlier The Beckman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook. Classic preps here include buttermilk pie with pecan crust, concord grape pie, sweet green tomato hand pies, cardamom cake with coffee glaze, baked stone fruits with cannoli cream, and lemon-toasted poppy seed cake. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.

17. KEWL BITES (Rodale, 2013, 212 pages, ISBN 978-1-60961-510-9, $21.99 US paper covers) is by Reed Alexander, an 18-year old TV actor who looks 13. He's the current spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation's Alliance for a Healthier Generation. He's also part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative. He's a regular at food festivals, food TV shows, and his own blog, kewlbites.com. So he's a natural as a cookbook writer. There's some heavy duty log rolling from such as Bill Clinton (but no Michelle Obama). It is a good book for youngsters in that this is food that is both nutritious and easy for them to prepare, although I'm not sure about eggplant or artichokes appealing to anybody under 25. Nevertheless, there are other concoctions here, along with a rationale about why that food or dish is useful for any growing kid. His faves are dark-chocolate banana marble bread, mini chicken parm meatballs, and vegetable dumplings with lemongrass dipping sauce. The arrangement is by type of dish (soup, salads, mains, pasta, sides, sweets) opening with breakfast/brunch. I'm all for it if the youngsters will not only eat it but also do their own cooking! Take it off to college, folks.Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 89.

18. WORLD-CLASS SWEDISH COOKING; artisanal recipes from one of Stockholm's most celebrated restaurants (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012, 2013, 318 pages, ISBN 978-1-62087-735-7, $27.95 US hard covers) is by Bjorn Frantzen and Daniel Lindeberg, owners of Frantzen/Lindeberg, with two Michelin stars and Best Swedish Restaurant award for 2012. Of course there are lots of pix of the boys, their resto, menus, and food items. There are also details on their cooking techniques and philosophy of dining. The preps look at shellfish, fish, breads, dairy, meat, pork, fowl, veggies and desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is also a table of equivalents. Many recipes have no listed ingredients, but they can be figured out, especially with a photo of a plated dish beside it. There are two indexes: one to the recipes and one to the ingredients. The adventuresome may want to try oven-baked raspberry ice cream with licorice mousse, grouse baked in hay, confit chin of cod (cod cheeks), or compressed watermelon and sorbet of xintai cucumber. Cutting edge stuff, challenging at home.Quality/price rating: 90.

19. THE SIMPLY RAW KICTHEN; plant-powered, gluten-free, and mostly raw recipes for healthy living (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013, 207 pages, ISBN 978-1-55152-505-1, $21.95 US paper covers) is by Natasha Kyssa, a former model who became a vegan in 1990. She's adopted a raw lifestyle, and now runs SimplyRaw Express in Ottawa (see also www.simplyraw.ca).There's some impressive log rolling as well, from some such as Bif Naked. Her latest book (an earlier one, The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual, was published in 2009) promotes a whole-food, nutrient-rich diet designed for optimal health. And she's had a quarter of a century experience with this lifestyle. There are 134 recipes such as taco verde, righteous brownies and caramel frosting, plus some cooked vegan preps such as her family's borscht, mushroom goulash, and Romanian cabbage rolls. The preps are coded as to contents, and arranged in a standard format: beverages, breakfasts, soups, salads, pates and dips, mains, and desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mostly avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of equivalents.Quality/price rating: 88.

20. MUG CAKES; 100 speedy microwave treats to satisfy your sweet tooth (St. Martin's Griffin, 2013, 168 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-02658-3, $22.99 US paper covers) is by Leslie Bilderback, a California restaurant pastry chef who has also written eight books in the Idiot's and Everything series (while doing monthly food columns), and winning big in a reality TV cooking show on the Food Network. Here she has assembled 100 dessert ideas for a microwaved mug (=Mason jars). These are small bites for singles or parties, individually tailored with assorted toppings and frostings  or not. There are preps with alcohol infusions, dietary needs, non-cakes (puddings, pies, cheesecakes). All it takes is five minutes  yummy. The basics are covered in 10 pages, and classic cakes are deconstructed: buttermilk mug cake, red velvet mug cake, banana mug cake, strawberry shortmug cake, carrot mug cake, oatmeal-raisin mug cake. These are followed by kids, adults (liquor), chocolate, nuts, fruit, and non-cakes. Very much worth a look, especially if you have a microwave. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.Quality/price rating: 89.

21. WORLD FOOD CAFÉ; quick and easy recipes from a vegetarian journey (Frances Lincoln Ltd, 207 pages, ISBN 978-0-7112-3296-9, $29.95 US hard covers) is by Chris and Carolyn Caldicott, who both once owned the World Food Café in Covent Garden, cooking vegetarian food from recipes uncovered in their travels. They've also written other veggie books for Francis Lincoln, a UK publisher, including World Food Cafe Quick and Easy in 2006. Thus, this is a follow-up book. In their travels, author Chris photographs while he and Carolyn collect tales and preps from home kitchens, street stalls, restos, and roadside cafes. It's arranged by country, beginning with Bangladesh and ending with Vietnam (with such rarities as Bhutan, Burma, Lapland and Namibia). The 100 recipes here include such as spiced veldt bread, caramelized rum and coconut pina assadas, crispy rice cakes, and sweet mung bean che. For vegetarians, this book is well worth a side-trip to enjoyment.All recipes are for four greedy or six modest portions unless otherwise stated. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents.Quality/price rating: 89.